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Pablo Carbonell Bejerano joins ICVV to conduct research based on last generation genomics

Pablo Carbonell Bejerano, degree in Biological Sciences (University of Alicante, 2002) and PhD in Biotechnology (Polytechnic University of Valencia, 2008), has joined ICVV as CSIC permanent researcher from April 2022.

Pablo Carbonell Bejerano starts a research line based on last generation genomics to identify variants of interest for grapevine improvement and breeding. This research involves the screening of grapevine inter- and intra-cultivar natural variants most suitable for quality and sustainable production under changing conditions, including these derived from climate change and new society demands. To identify the molecular variation responsible for the traits of interest in the selected variants, the group will apply global genomics, epigenomics and transcriptomics approaches as well as bioinformatic analysis. To aid these aims, Pablo Carbonell’s research has generated and will continue generating de novo genome assemblies of the most relevant cultivars for the national viti-viniculture to be used as reference genomes in inter- and intra-cultivar studies. Uncovering the molecular origin of the improved traits will enable the development of the most reliable molecular markers to ensure the traceability of the selected variants. This knowledge can also be exploited to introduce the improved traits into other genetic backgrounds, either through classical breeding or by gene editing if it would become accepted by the market.

For his PhD thesis, Pablo Carbonell Bejerano characterized at the molecular level fundamental processes of fruit development in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana at Institute for Plant Molecular and Cell Biology (IBMCP, Valencia). As postdoctoral researcher, Pablo Carbonell focused on identifying genetic and genomic variation giving rise to variant traits of interest for viticulture. Pablo Carbonell developed his postdoctoral career working at the Spanish National Centre for Biotechnology (CNB, Madrid, 2009-2012) and the Institute for Grapevine and Wine Sciences (ICVV, Logroño, 2012-2018). More recently, Pablo Carbonell was awarded with a Marie Curie fellowship from the European Union to move his research to the Max Planck Institute for Biology (Tuebingen, Germany, 2018-2022) where he applied cutting-edge genomics for the study of grapevine as well as other plant species.